FIREBIRD and Other Ballet: Meet The People Behind the Curtain

            The 47th Season of Ballet Philippines, initial offering won't be possible without the collaboration of some famous and truly creative people in their respective fields.  Along with the dancers, they are there to bring life to FIREBIRD and Other Ballets this August 2016.

             Let us get to know them now.
 

MARK LEWIS HIGGINS

Costume Designer, “Firebird”

The fusion of cultures is not a new phenomenon to Mark Lewis Higgins, who was born in Manila to an Irish-English father, and a Chinese-Filipina mother. After studying Fine Art in Canada, and Fashion Design in New York, he also lived in Hong Kong, San Francisco, and Rome. He is currently based in Manila.

Although primarily a painter, his diverse interests have included textile and costume design. An inherent respect for rich color, texture and drama is apparent in all his work, as is his interest in both Eastern and Western history, culture, and religion.

His solo exhibitions namely “Invisible Cities”, “Tribes”, and “Diaspora” have been showed in New York, Boston, Hong Kong, and Manila. He co-created the book, “SLIM: Salvacion Lim Higgins – Philippine Haute Couture 1947-1900”, and collaborated with Gino Gonzalez in authoring “Fashionable Filipinas: An Evolution of the Philippine National Dress in Photographs, 1860-1960”, published by Bench.

From 1997 to 1998, he conceptualised and designed costumes for an original Philippine musical production of C.S.Lewis’ “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,” staged in Manila for three consecutive seasons. In 1998, he collaborated with Ballet Philippines in designing costumes for choreographer Agnes Locsin’s “Four Last Songs”. He has been co-director of SLIM’s Fashion and Art School in Manila since 2009.

He is currently working on the costume designs for Ballet Philippines’ new production of “Firebird” to be choreographed by George Birkadze. With pre-Hispanic Philippines as the ballet’s setting, he draws upon elements such as gold, spices, and porcelain in his designs, reflecting the objects of trade at the time.

A selection of his paintings will also be exhibited at the CCP Main Theater lobby during the shows of “FIREBIRD and other ballets”.

OHM DAVID

Set Designer, “Firebird and other ballets”

Ohm designs scenery and lighting for theater and events. He started in Dulaang UP as a property master and actor in Tony Mabesa’s 1996 production of FILI2 and ELIAS AT SALOME . From there he focused on technical direction and stage design. Among his works as technical director for Dulaang UP includes Clare Boothe Luce's THE WOMEN (1997), Euripides' LYSISTRATA (2005), Del Valle Inclan's DIVINAS PALABRAS (2004), Federico Garcia Lorca's THE BUTTERFLY’S EVIL SPELL (2004), Nick Joaquin's TATARIN (2004), Shakespeare's OTHELLO (2000), THE WINTER’S TALE (2001), LULU (2009), OROSMAN AT ZAFIRA (2010 and 2011), and RIZAL X (2011).

He has toured several countries as set and lighting designer and technical director for theatrical and commercial events. This includes the Hong Kong International Concert Series in 2003, South Korea's First Gangneung International Folklore Festival in 2005, the 2006 Athens Video Art Festival, 2006 Arpiyes Concert in Athens. In 2006, under the tutelage of Anton Juan Jr., Ohm went to Athens and served as the resident technical director, scenery and lighting designer for The Aggelon Vima Center for Theater. From 2007-2008 he became the resident designer of another theater company in Athens, Altera Pars. With Altera Pars, he designed numerous plays including Eve Ensler's NECESSARY TARGETS, which played one year in Athens and toured Central Greece.

Other set designs for the theater include UP-FEU Sarswela's SA BUNGANGA NG PATING, UP Dulaang Lab's MACHINAL, MAL, UBU ROI, ANG AHAS, FEU-ATC's production of Euripides' ELEKTRA, Arts and Culture Asia’s Production of SA KAHARIAN NG ARAW, UP Los Banos' ISANG DULANG PANAGINIP, Repertory Philippines' THE JOY LUCK CLUB, Tanghalang Ateneo’s FIREFLIES, AUF Repertory Theater’s MULAN, OUR TOWN, ANG SUPREMO AT LAKAMBINI, THE SARIMANOK VS THE IBONG ADARNA, GREASE, THE WOMEN. Dulaang UP’s ANG MUNTIK NANG DI MAPIGILANG PAGHAHARI NI ARTURO UI, SHOCK VALUE, THE FORSAKEN HOUSE, THE SEAGULL, COLLECTION, ANG NAWALANG KAPATID, ANG HULING LAGDA NI APOLINARIO MABINI, # R </3 J, KING LEAR, and THE DRESSING ROOM. The Theater of Lavriotiki’s RATHIS KYRION, and ROMEOS KAI JULIETA, 2015 APEC show, FUSED, CCP’s TOSCA, Ballet Philippines’ SARONG BANGGI, Repertory Philippines’ THE SECRET GARDEN, and Ballet Manila’s PINOCCHIO

Recently, Ohm has ventured into museum and restaurant design. He designed the TAOID MUSEUM in LAOAG, ILOCOS NORTE, and the MILIEU Restaurant in LILAC st., MARIKINA. Ohm also does Art Installation. Recent works are THE OEDIPUS PROJECT in UP Diliman, THE BAKAWAN PROJECT, THE EDSA30 EXPERIENTIAL MUSEUM, and THE GRID, an installation work for the UP Diliman Month 2015.

The University of the Philippines recently awarded him the 2016 Most Productive Artist for his work inside and outside the University.

Currently, he is working with the University of Notre Dame for the 750th Anniversary of Dante Alighieri.

Set Design for FIREBIRD and other Ballet
(scale model)

OLIVIER OCHANINE

Conductor, “Firebird”

Olivier Ochanine is the 1st Prize Winner of the 2015 Antal Dorati International Conducting Competition in Budapest, Hungary, surpassing nearly 120 other conductors from 23 countries. His victory led to further performances in Europe. He is also the winner of the prestigious 2015 The American Prize in the Professional Orchestra Conducting division.  Olivier is also 2nd Prize Winner in the 2015 London Classical Soloists International Conducting Competition, where he conducted the orchestra in various Beethoven symphonies.  

Being the youngest Musical Director in the history of the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Olivier is regularly praised for his charisma on and off the podium, as well as for his breadth of orchestral repertoire. Olivier's term with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, the nation's leading orchestra, started with the 2010-2011 performance season.  Under his leadership, the orchestra has performed numerous Philippine premieres.  In June 2016, the orchestra performed at the world renowned Carnegie Hall, a project that took Olivier three years of hard work to make a reality, making the orchestra the first Filipino orchestra to perform at the revered venue, and in the U.S. mainland. His stint with the PPO spanned two three-year terms from 2010 to 2016.

A native of Paris, he began his music studies in France, then proceeded to the United States, expanding his focus on orchestral conducting, taking up graduate studies, and attending master classes with some of the best conducting mentors, including Mark Gibson, Gustav Meier, Marin Alsop, Larry Livingston, Robert Baldwin, John Barnett, John Farrer, and Achim Holub.  In 2003, he obtained his Masters Degree in Conducting from the University of Southern California, where he was given the Conducting Department Award.  In 2009, he began his Doctoral Studies in Orchestral Conducting at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under Mark Gibson.

Aside from an internationally recognized conductor, Olivier is also a  world class musician. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Kentucky, as a flutist and bassist. He has also played as bassist for the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra.

Olivier has been invited to the California Conductors Institute several times.  In 2009, he was among a handful of conductors invited by Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Marin Alsop, to conduct in the Cabrillo Music Festival in Santa Cruz, California, and to participate in a conducting workshop. He has also been a participant in the Cincinnati College-Conservatory's conducting workshops.

In the Philippines, Olivier is an active clinician, leading chamber music masterclasses at various schools. He has also led master classes in conducting for the Cultural Center of the Philippines.  As part of his outreach mission, Olivier serves as head visiting conductor of The Orchestra of the Filipino Youth, a program geared towards training talented youth that stem from severely unfortunate financial backgrounds.  Olivier is also a strong advocate of heritage, recently winning a campaign he spearheaded to save the the Philamlife Theater from demolishment by a large commercial developer.

He has collaborated with artists such as violinist Odin Rathnam, Argentinian bandoneonist Rodolfo Mederos, and celebrated pianist Cecile Licad.  He is a regular guest conductor with the Vietnam National Symphony Orchestra and the Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra of China. He has also conducted the Cincinnati College-Conservatory Orchestras, Budapest MAV Symphony Orchestra, George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra, and Moscow State Symphony Orchestra.  Some of his upcoming engagements include conducting the Esterhàza Festival Orchestra, the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, and Virtuosi Italiani. Aside from Carnegie Hall, Olivier has also conducted in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and China's National Centre for the Performing Arts.